Collaboration Knife?

[Andrew J. Stromfeld]

I've looked at many knives over the years in magazines,knife shows,and on the internet.There are lots of great knifemakers to say the least.But yet I hav'nt gone out and put down the big money to acquire one of those beauties.I've settled for the "practical" production knife.The kershaw,the cold steel,the benchmade,the blackjack,the beretta.Is it really art? Is it truly an investment? What the hell will satisfy me to part with several thousand dollars for a knife? What is a collaboration knife? Whom decides who collaborates? Yes three heads are better than one! Can an ordinary citizen demand,based on his own intellect,two or more bladesmiths to produce one knife? How is it done? How does one go about this task with the proper etiquette? eg: http://www.gallagherknives.com/d-persian.htm

[This message has been edited by Andrew J. Stromfeld (edited 11-07-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Andrew J. Stromfeld (edited 11-07-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Andrew J. Stromfeld (edited 11-07-2000).]

 

[lifter4Him]

Hi Andrew, welcome to BF. Ok, some answers.
First, you don't have to spend thousands to buy a fine custom knife. There are plenty of good customs of all types in the $300-800 range. You can also sometimes pick one up that is slightly used for a good discount. As far as art knives go, I believe the general advice given by those in the know is to buy what you like and not just to do it for an investment.
Most of the collaborations that you hear about today are between a custom maker and a production company. A production company sees a knife made by a maker that they like and they get together to see if it's feasible for the production company to mass produce the design. So I guess it would be the production companies that decide what collaborations they go after.
There are also collaborations between custom makers sometimes where one produces a blade and the other does the handle. Some makers also specialize in making damascus and alot of makers buy bars of it to produce their own knives.I don't think it would be a good idea to try and demand makers to do anything but if you had an idea for 2 makers you could approach them about it. I believe most will work with you.
Hope this helps some.


------------------
Dave (Phil.4:13)
I Can Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens Me
Lifter at work: www.profitness.com/Profiles/profileDaveAbramson

[This message has been edited by lifter4Him@aol.com (edited 11-07-2000).]

 

[richard rosvall]

Welcome to the forums, Andrew. Dave has given you some good info and advice. If you go to the links here and click on Custom Makers, you can check out the work of some fantastic makers. And you might be surprised at the prices. Lots of quality custom knives at prices that rival the cost of a good production knife. Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

 

[Brian_Turner]

I've got a collab cooking now that will have mosaic damascus by one maker, the knife actually constructed by another, and then back to the smith who will embellish and otherwise "finish" the knife.

Really, it's going to depend on a couple of things how the makers will react to similar requests.

First, how well do you know the makers? Will they want to join up in a "special" project for you? Will they take your request as a slight, ie. something that you don't feel they do well?

Second, do the makers know each other? They may be old friends who have been looking for just such a reason to get together. Or they may have heat that goes back, and not want to work together. Also, how they regard each others' work will have an effect. I know that I wouldn't want my name to share billing if I knew that the other participant was going to do shoddy work.

In my case, each maker has made more than one knife for me, going back several years. They know each other, from my introduction. And they both understand that the project is designed to emphasize the strengths of each other's work, not to downplay any weakness. It also gives them a chance to do something that would otherwise be totally "outside of the box" for their normal fare.